


Wednesday

by tiffanyxxblues



Category: Fall Out Boy
Genre: Child Abandonment, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Past Abuse, Underage Drug Use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-06
Updated: 2014-04-06
Packaged: 2018-01-18 08:24:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1421359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiffanyxxblues/pseuds/tiffanyxxblues
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's funny, how quickly things can change. One day you're happy, in love. And the next, you're loathing the person you promised to spend the rest of your life with. I guess promises just don't mean as much as they used to.</p><p>The electricity went out last night, I sort of wish I'd joined the scouts and learnt how to light a fire with a bundle of sticks and my bare hands.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wednesday

I fucking hate Wednesdays. I don't even need a reason to, I just really hate Wednesdays. Maybe it's just the midweek blues. Probably not. Ever since mom and dad left things have been different, im not sure how much longer I'll have before someone finds out.

Its only been a week, but I'd rather wallow in my own sadness and self pity than face the world, so helpless, desperate and completely alone.

I should have seen it coming, but the teenage mind is a fuzzy place. Things tend to go unnoticed. Now I only have the memories, not that they're worth anything anymore.

All I ever wanted as kid was the house to myself for one whole day. A day without having to cover my ears or crawl under my bed while mom and dad fought over grams and not-so-secret lovers. If only I'd known then, that that day of bliss would turn into a sorrow filled week. If I'd known then what I know now, I would've run away before they got the chance to. Not that they'd have noticed.

I always was too good at hide and seek for my own good. Of course, this would be the one thing I cant hide from.

 

The electricity went out last night, I sort of wish I'd joined the scouts and learnt how to light a fire with a bundle of sticks and my bare hands. Now, I'm not so sure I'll ever get the chance.

A guy from school, Pete, came over and asked where I'd been. Apparently a few teachers decided to notice the quiet kid with issues that's normally sat at the back of the class. Just my fucking luck.  
Pete says they've been discussing calling the cops, probably to check whether I've fallen down a well or something. Pete says mom and dad had no right to skip out on me like that. I feel inclined to agree.

Pete leaves his number and tells me to call him if I need anything.

And I would, if I could afford to pay the phone bill, but I cant, and Pete comes back two days later with a disappointed look on his face. Suddenly, I feel guilty for not calling. I have no idea why.

So he comes back, everyday, for a week and at first it all feels too much, pete coming inside and judging the state that mom and dad left the house in. But then he starts bringing his mom's home cooked left overs (which I'm convinced are far too fresh to be left over from any longer than a couple of hours beforehand) and leaving a few notes from the bottom of his wallet ('just in case'). And I think, know I like him.

Pete stops by again, says his parents are going on vacation to the Maldives and to wait for him to get back. I don't say no. That night we light the fireplace with the last of dad's matches and toast a few marshmallows from the pack Pete brought over. I pretend not to notice him not eating his share. 

4 days later -or possibly a decade, I'm not sure- Pete comes back and it's late. He leans his bike against the front porch and grins that ever giving grin that I've somehow become so accustomed to. 

Pete steps closer and looks at me, really looks at me, sees my sallow, gaunt features and walks straight past me and into the shell of a house I'd been forced to call home.  
He asks where my bedroom is, hauling his back pack off of his shoulders. We get to my room, pack a few of my favourite shirts and leave the house. I don't look back.


	2. This kid's not alright

I'm surprised, even though I shouldn't be. Pete's house is just as extravagant as I'd thought it would be, maybe even more so. His fridge full of food and hyperactive pets are almost as welcoming as his parents' warm smiles and the sense of pride in their son that seems to be radiating off of their newly acquired tans. How marvellous of Pete, willing to share his enormous bedroom with the poor kid from the bad side of town. I feel as though I should be angry, but for some reason I can't bring myself to. ( because I know it's true )

It's strange at first, waking up to the smell of Pete and roses and fresh linen instead of cheap booze, dried blood and cigarettes. I like it though.

The next morning Mrs. Wentz decides it would be in my best interests to go back to school. I don't see why, graduating isn't going to bring back my lost childhood. Being a walking target for bullies and wannabe gangsters was enough to deter me from school for life.   
I've no problem with working in WalMart for the rest of my days.

School was hard enough before I had the trouble of interacting with Pete and his friends: Joe and Andy. They seem nice, but I know better than anyone not to judge someone by their exterior.  
We hang out after school and it's cool to feel a part of something, to be included.  
The guys ask me to join their band and when Pete hears me sing, I swear our hearts beat in time. I don't know what we are but I know it's something special.

 

Pete and his family like to go to the local park on weekends. Not the hot spot for drug dealers that mom and dad used to abandon me in during the week, but a park with an actual gate, and a security guard. Pete and I decide to wander off to an old cork tree.   
We sit under it and Pete kisses me and it's a lot nicer than I imagined.

I think I like Wednesdays.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wait! There's more coming soon.


	3. as our problems dissolve

Life goes on and I try my best not to admit the burden I am on Pete's family.  
Though I'm still thankful for the distraction from the hurt that never seems to go away.  
Except when I'm around Pete. 

It's summer and we talk even more now that we have the days and weeks to ourselves. Pete tells me about the time he tried to sneak backstage at a Metallica show and got beaten to a pulp by James Hetfield's body guards. I don't know whether to laugh or try to kiss him better.

He tells me about the time he tried to overdose and again, I feel as though it's somehow my fault. So when Pete lies awake at 3 am, I lay with him, to keep away the nightmares and the monsters in the closet. It's on those sleepless nights that I realise that I would do anything for Pete. I doubt the feeling would be mutual though.

It's also on those nights that the similarities between us grow even stronger. We both have ghosts and mine seem to be doing a superb job of haunting my every waking hour.

However strange it may seem, I do sometimes miss my old life and the independence that I was by no means prepared for.

 

I know I cant run forever, and this is proven when Pete and I decide to detour past my old house. It's eerily quiet and the mottled curtains haven't been drawn despite the darkness engulfing the house. One of the windows has been smashed from the inside but that's not what gets me.  
What surprises me is the broken down hatchback sitting in its rightful spot out front. 

 

'We didn't mean to leave you'

'You know we'll always be there'

Mom and dad make a lot of excuses but never ask for me to stay, never apologize for all they put me through.

And maybe I'm a little thankful for that. 

 

When we finally get back, Pete is still clutching my hand for all it's worth. We walk past his parents, reclining in the main room, and they merely spare a glance. I wonder how obvious our slightly-more-than friendship has been. 

 

That night, we get bored of our usual early morning ritual and Pete leads me into the attic. He opens a tiny window and nudges me forward until we're both sitting on the roof and looking up towards a starry sky. 

I had no idea the sky could look so beautiful at night, but it could be who I'm with that's causing me to feel this way. 

We knock shoulders and Pete asks me to never leave.  
And this may be the happiest day of my life because now I know that we are infinite.


	4. we lose it all

Eventually we return to the real world. School and jobs and evermore frequent band practices begin to take their toll. 

There's a new guy at school with slicked back hair and too many piercings. We cross paths and he stops me in my tracks. 

I don't particularly mind being late for class but I don't feel the need to try and make any more friends (or enemies, for that matter) either.  
Pete's on the other side of school so I'm not sure what to do when he half drags me to the other side of the hall, in between some lockers and the boy's bathroom.

He pulls out a small food bag full of multicoloured pills and offers to strike a deal. Even though I know the damage they can cause, a voice in the back of my mind is screaming for release.

I pull out a few notes from my back pocket and hand them over.

 

I decide not to tell Pete about the mysterious boy and the even more mysterious pills he handed me. At least not until after I try them out myself.

For a moment I consider, think about mom and dad and how disappointed the Wentz family would be. But then I'm swallowing a handful.

The first few take awhile to have any effect but then the world is drowned out, and how did I get on the floor? 

Then everything goes black and maybe I shouldn't have accepted an anonymous substance off of someone I had never met before.

 

I see clear skies when I open my eyes. I don't know where I am but it feels like home; cold and bitter. I see mom and dad but they're walking away, fading more and more with each step. I see Pete and his grin has disappeared, replaced by a despondent frown before he too decides to leave me on my own.

 

I open my eyes, for real this time, and see Pete with that same expression. 

I then remember Pete's overdose and the realisation hits me like a ton of bricks. I doubt he'd understand my need to escape, just for a little while. 

Maybe it would have been better if I'd stayed in that derelict house, maybe then I wouldn't have caused so much hurt. Sadly, there's no way to turn back time so I brace myself for whatever reaction Pete may have.

Going against any logic, Pete leans down and lightly pecks one of my cheeks. He then stands up and walks away. Yeah, maybe it would be better if I weren't around. 

 

It's late and I decide to go back up to the roof top that Pete and I spent many a night on during the summer. I look over the tiny houses and up at the star littered sky, so lost in my thoughts that I don't hear the window opening behind me. I don't notice anything until I feel a familiar warmth at my side.

Pete's shoulders knock into mine but this time he pauses and leans his weight onto me. I don't even notice him crying until I turn around and comb my fingers through his hair, giving him the tightest hug I could muster and allowing his sobs to soak into my clothes.

I don't realise that I'm crying too until Pete's hands are around my waist, his warmth a bandage to cover up my open wounds.

I tell Pete about the mysterious guy and his bag of rainbow pills and Pete says he'll kill him (and that those pills have been effectively dealt with by the sewage system). I tell him how mom and dad used drugs to cover up what the world didn't need to see, and how I thought I could do the same.

After a jumbled mess of apologies I tell Pete that I love him. He pinky promises that he will always feel the same way. 

I believe him.


	5. Epilogue

Pete goes to fix my tie and I bat his hand away. It's bad enough that he insisted on seeing me before the wedding. 

My parents don't show up and I'm reminded of a tearful graduation ceremony of only a few months ago.

Pete had been holding my hand then, and is still holding it now. I put the loss of circulation to my fingers down to nerves. Rain had been predicted all week with the only clear day being Wednesday. I couldn't be happier.

It's not a huge event, just a few close friends and relatives. Joe and Andy sit on the front row, sharing a box of kleenex between them.

I think about that crummy old house and how lost I would have been without Pete. If it weren't for him I don't think I would have made it out alive. I say all of this in my vows and maybe get a little choked up.

 

When it's all over, we run out of the registry office and jump into Pete's hand-me-down car, laughing all the way. We don't stop until we get to wherever it is we end up and we don't ever look back.


End file.
